


Dance

by financedsquash0



Series: Sentinel of Mine [1]
Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: 100 prompt challenge, Gen, hints of LinkxMarth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 01:05:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3468677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/financedsquash0/pseuds/financedsquash0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dancing was never his strong suit, and he had a feeling that at least two other people (slightly scheming and horrid best friends that they were) knew his secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance

It wasn't as though he couldn't understand the concept. It seemed easy enough at the first glance, one hand intertwined with another's with the other placed high on their shoulder while feet worked together in a rhythmic pattern both parties knew, never ceasing the movements across the floor and against one another. The way the dull magenta dress swayed as the princess smiled, hands and attention rapt on the mercenary before her, betrayed little of how fumbling and awkward such a situation could become until the prince himself was grabbed unceremoniously and pitched into the arms of the built man in her stead. He couldn't help but toss a glare back at her from beneath cerulean fringe as his bangs whipped near his eyes, a strong hand grasping his wrist and placing it high on the shoulder. “Just follow my lead.”

It was a marvel how over the time spent apart from one another the man could go from a tall twig to a collective force of nature, all coiled muscle and built stature, yet the pitch of his voice never strayed from that of the young man he had met upon the dawn of the previous tournament just over a year ago. The thought brought a distracted smile to his face, and an unrelenting boot down upon his unarmored foot. “You weren't paying much attention, were you?” The mercenary asked haughtily.

As if he even needed an answer.

He tried hard not to glare at him, he really did, but his attempts must have been unsuccessful if the way mirth reflected in the deep blue eyes that studied him caused the corners of the aging eyes to wrinkle. “I'm trying to, but it looked deceptively simple before.”

The rhythm was fast paced and confusing at best, erratic and nonexistent in all moments otherwise. How anyone could consider the jumble of beats classical music, or fit to dance to, was beyond understanding and his opinion was not contingent on how difficult keeping up with the tempo was. With an effort, his feet shuffled unsteadily about the tiled floor. He could feel every minute detail of the tile below him from stains of years past to the grout crowding each ceramic piece while his feet stumbled in a fruitless effort to gain purchase against the increasing tempo. Ike refused to let up his pace for even a moment. A squeeze of warning was administered to his hand every now and again, specifically when his own foot would land heavily atop his partners, a murmured “sorry, Ike”, following each transgression, only to be answered by a huff through the nose. He knew from a year of experience that the man was patient...ish, but everyone had a limit, and Ike was reaching his with increasing momentum. Even Zelda, the kindly and outspoken princess, who had been watching from the sidelines, had her face pinched in sympathy as Ike's feet were consistently trod upon. He couldn't help the wrestling guilt rolling in his stomach , even after Ike's responding “shut up, prince”, “stop apologizing, prince”, and “I swear to Ashera, Marth...”, and his insistence that his feet were not going to be damaged by the affair. At least, not permanently.

“Perhaps we should stop for now?” Marth proposed as amiably as possible, eyes and head slightly downcast to shade the shame marring the lines on his face.

Ike gave him a scrutinizing glance, head tilting slightly to the left to appraise him. It was easy to recognize the subtle signs of distress present in the knitting of thin brows which caused the bridge of his nose to wrinkle, and he knew intrinsically that he looked like someone had taken his favorite toy and turned it into a sandbag to train the new contestants. Unfortunately, Ike was well attuned with Marth's moods after several months of close proximity and had thus begun giving names to all of the faces he made. At the current moment, this one was unnamed but would likely gain its moniker before the day was out.

Marth could see the fabric of the headband perched over the broadened brow lift in understanding. “Yeah, I bet the princess and I can show you how it's done and you'll be a master in just a few minutes. I have to admit though,” Ike faked contemplation, humor evident in the tone of his voice and the warmth in his eyes, “I'm kinda surprised a prince doesn't know how to dance formally.”

The moment his hands and waist were released, Marth drew away swiftly and wrapped his arms lightly around his midriff. It was difficult to seem as though he didn't care when he felt Ike's words painfully hard and rattling inside him regardless of the man's intentions. The lack of tact the man had in him was impressive if not appalling, but he always meant well. Placing his back against the wall, Marth briefly thanked his foresight in not dawning his armor and cape for the morning as the discomfort of the alloys pressing into his back would have made his current position less than comfortable, and the situation just did not need any more complications. Heavily, he reminded himself that learning to dance was always within the realm of expectations for individuals of his stature, princess Peach and Zelda proved as much with their elegant sweeping gowns and royal status, and the cobalt prince could not help but feel as though he had failed his kingdom by proving himself incapable of such an escapade. Even Ike, a sell sword from a foreign country, was more capable of dance than he himself was. Then again, it was difficult to imagine the concept of dance when one was too busy sleeping on hard bed rolls with a ration of water and food to last a month, surrounded by enemy soldiers. The trenches of the battlefield provided little in the spirit of music and laughter, thus dance was never something he had chanced indulgence in, unless it involved lethal swordplay.

He supposed Ike could relate to his plight on some level, though the mercenary had been sixteen when forced to engage in war and lived a somewhat normal life in the time beforehand. At the age of fourteen, Marth was already a prince in exile, his father and mother killed, his sister missing, and nothing to his name but a removed title. A sweep of Zelda's gown across the tiles drew Marth's gaze briefly up, the cadence of the song drawing steadily to a close.

Even with his eyes tracking the dancing duo's movements across the room's entirety, it still took a moment for the crown prince to notice the speck of drab green and blonde out of the corner of his eye, lingering close near the wall of the room. Marth turned his head slightly to capture the image of the Hylian leaning against the solid expanse, arms crossed and brows pinched in concentration. There was a barely noticeable bob to his head as the music trekked ever closer to its end, the tip of his hat swaying with the motion as his eyes followed the princess much the way Marth's had. A booted foot tapped quietly on the tile, careful not to clack and derail the dance, though the motion did cause several items strapped across his body to jar and clatter in protest. Marth had only a moment to wonder if Link had learned to dance at some point in his journeys before Zelda's voice called out. “Are you two going to stand on the sidelines forever?”

Marth, who had been staring rather intently at the Hylian in thought, started as those sky orbs locked onto his own and felt a current of embarrassment mar his cheeks.

Staring. Not polite.

It took no small amount of mental fortitude to not kick himself for his rudeness, eyes tracking downwards to rove over his gloved hands in embarrassment. It was in no way an effort to avoid the eyes of the other man; though, if he was honest, it completely was.

A shadow crossed over him and Marth looked up, finally noticing that Link had drawn closer while he had been berating himself and...why was his hand out stretched? “Come on, Marth.” Ike encouraged, sounding closer to Marth now that he was no longer spinning out on the floor.

Silence had encompassed the room, the music transitioning into the next song with a mechanized whirr from the record player. Marth looked cautiously between Link's outstretched hand and the Hylian's eyes. Link was quiet most of the time, for reasons no one had been able to force from him or his princess companion, so he wasn't looking for a verbal confirmation; but the intense and calculating gaze aimed at the prince was nothing if not an open window into the mind of the hero. In turn, Marth betrayed nothing; not his nervousness to fail on the floor, nor his lack of confidence in the abilities of his would-be dancing partner should he accept the proposition to dance. A hand rested on his shoulder, light and noticeable due to his lack of armor and cape, reassuring in nature as Zelda drew up next to him. “It'll be fine, Marth.” She whispered. “He doesn't know how to dance either.”

Marth did not remove his eyes from Link's, waiting to see if there would be a tell to affirm or refute Zelda's statement. Yet he only found the same passivity that was always there, and a potential crease of the skin beneath Link's left eye as a muscle twitched in what Marth assumed was amusement. The small expression of emotion had Marth's eyes roving over the rest of Link's face, and then down to observe the myriad of weapons stored across his tool belt and leather straps.

The features of Link's face slowly began to tighten, and it was only then that Marth realized his thoughtful reverie and silence may have been mistaken for rejection. With a swift movement, the prince found himself tossing a hand into the man's before him, resulting in a brief flash of surprise across the normally smooth face of his long-eared companion. Marth smiled a miniscule, reassuring smile that amounted to nothing more than the corners of his mouth turning up.

With a light pull, Marth found himself pulled away from the garish wallpaper he had been leaning against and out to the center of the floor that the other two people in the room had previously occupied. A hand tentatively wrapped its way around his waist, letting Marth know that his partner had intentions to lead, and the prince nodded in response. His other hand was immediately, if not eagerly, wrapped in a gauntlet covered hand, long fingers fitting snugly between his own. A glance up to the face just slightly above his, the Hylian slightly taller when standing up straight, revealed nothing of the emotions of the man before him and alluded that none of the perceived excitement from earlier might have ever existed.

The music began after only a moment or two of wait, light strings starting the light sounds with a slight bounce. It was clearly a waltz, the beats distinctly obvious in their patterns of three and the plucking strings setting the base while an ambitious woodwind belted out the melody over top. Heavy hits of brass pulled everything together, the notes creating an almost lyrical sense as they wound their way through the room. Attention rapt on the music, Marth almost didn't realize when Link began to move if not for the slight nudge to the instep of his right foot, letting him know in a silent suggestion which foot to move first and to bring it towards him. A tug to the hand wrapped in the other man's pulled him along towards the Hylian, angling his body slightly to the side and forcing a foot around to keep his balance. The rotation was slightly jarring, Marth's shoes scuffing the floor as he tried to keep up.

'Has never danced before my foot,' Marth thought disdainfully as another shuffled step brought his nose inches from Link's collarbone. The Hylian moved like he had never known anything but dance for half of his existence. A quick step forward and a glide to the right put Link right up in Marth's personal space, forcing him back and to his left with feet clambering to keep pace. Alarmed, both pairs of blue eyes met, one pair desperate and the other perfectly calm if not slightly sympathetic. It was barely perceptible, but Link's head dipped slightly in a nod, slowing their pace to a manageable speed and allowing Marth to regain his control. He couldn't be more grateful, stepping in towards Link as the sound of heavy, deep bass overtook the polite tweets of the strings and high brass, sultry tones echoing off the walls of the faceted room.

A pressure on Marth's left foot urged it to his left side, following the path his right foot had taken backwards and placing them beside one another. A boot held steady over his right foot as Link pulled him forward, a slight extra tug on his left hand that Marth had barely thought to pay attention to before in his panic, that had him drawing his left foot closer. He was aware the moment Link's booted left foot released his own, encouraging it forward and the the right to assume the position they had originated in. The feeling of something thin and insistent poking his crown just before the golden band had Marth tilting his head upwards, only to find that the Hylian had nudged him in an effort to get him to look up, a slight shake of his head acting as a silent reminder not to watch his feet.

The music continued relentlessly, their bodies making funny quarter turns that Marth had not even registered earlier. Imperceptibly, the speed of their footwork increased as the song became ever more frantic with the brass and woodwinds increasing in volume and vivacity, as though the lull in jovial spirits had them kicking back two hundred percent. Marth felt it deep inside him, a light fluttering setting itself off inside his stomach. He wondered if Link could feel it too, the man in question guiding Marth's feet minutely off tempo beneath a tented arm to allow passage beneath, and the prince found himself moving seamlessly around Link's space in a pattern eerily reminiscent to his own blade work. He was growing suspicious that Link may have been guiding him in that manner on purpose, a tentative tug from Link's left arm rising Marth's above his head and causing the prince to spin on the ball of his right toe.

The room was spinning in earnest at this point, a blur of colors and terrible wallpaper passing by at near dizzying speeds. Occasionally, his eye would catch the bewildered face of the nearby spectators, who he noticed had drastically increased in size from their previous audience. Another whip around and two quarter turns revealed a minimum of a crowd of twenty others, not to mention the gaping mouth of his mercenary friend and the supportive princess. If Marth didn't know any better, he'd be suspicious said supportive princess may have been plotting something given the small, satisfied smile, and the slight wringing of her hands.

The final two notes of the song hit flauntingly, Link's feet bringing the both of them to a graceful halt in the exact spot where they had begun. It was only when his feet were no longer moving that Marth realized how much his head was spinning and how tightly his hand grappled at Link's right. With a shake of his head and hand, the dizziness cleared and his hand was released. “Holy crap.” He overheard Ike breathe from the corner of the room. “I thought they didn't know how to dance?”

A dull roar of murmurs had overtaken the room. Marth tried to ignore the mercenary's words, as well as all the other contestants who looked on and nodded in thanks to Link. The Hylian's eyes were alight with emotion, baby blues shiny and expressive in contrast to his typical stoicism. The comparison to the typical apathy usual adorning his cheeks caused Marth to jerk back bodily, his body already angling to flee from the unknown threat.“Ah..thank you for the dance.” Marth stated with a quick bow, making haste to escape down an empty corridor, boots clacking and a nervous hand fiddling with a button high on his collar.

Had he bothered to look back, he would have seen the way those sharp eyes tracked him, fingers tapping out the beat of the waltz they had conquered on a weapon's belt.  
  
Observation was something he was good at.  
  
And observing Marth was quickly becoming his favorite past time.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Songs: Dmitri Shostakovich “The Second Waltz”as performed by Andre Rieu
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the content mentioned above, including the characters (Ike, Marth, Link, Zelda), settings, or concepts which are the property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. The 100 Prompt Challenge being followed was produced by Sunshokk of unknown denomination and is no way my property either. 
> 
> Hello! This is the beginning of a 100 prompt challenge I want to work on to better characterize Marth and Link for future stories. There are obviously others involved that will be characterized as well, however Marth and Link are the focus. I wanted to briefly mention that my intention with these stories was to take them into audio conversion and make them somewhat of an audio book. If anyone is interested in hearing this story in its audio form, please let me know and i'll look into posting it on youtube. Unfortunately, ao3 doesn't allow weaving audio files into text, so i'll have to find another way to share it.
> 
> ~FinancedSquash0


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